How to Keep the Elderly in Your Care Happy and Vibrant: 10 Proven Nursing Home Care Tips

If wishes were horses, we would all remain on the ride of youth and strength. No wonder the health and beauty care industries are buzzing with many products and procedures that promise to delay ageing and make the skin remain fresh and young for longer. Well, sorry to burst your bubble! No matter how much we try, old age will catch up with us! Remaining young is not within our power.

Another not-so-good news! Old age comes with many challenges and limitations. At a point, we might need to depend on others for care and support. And there is nothing really we can do about it. If you are young, you might have the privilege of caring for an elderly relative or even make caring for the elderly a career choice. Because of the challenges and limitations of advancing age, caring for the elderly can be a difficult task for carers and support workers.

But hey! it’s not all gloom and doom. There is good news! Caring for the elderly can be fun and rewarding! Yeah, you read that right! Again, it can be fun and rewarding to care for the elderly! If you are a support worker serving in a care home or an assisted living facility or caring for an elderly person in any other setting, this article is for you. It will supply you with 10 proven tips that will enable you to care for those who depend on you effectively, keeping them happy, vibrant and cheerful, while bringing you joy and satisfaction.

How so? Read on…

Before diving into the tips of successful elderly caregiving and support? Let us understand why it is important that the elderly are kept happy and cheerful.

Many pieces of research show that being happy and joyful can impact a senior’s mental and physical health greatly. Some of the specific benefits that will result from keeping the elderly happy include:

• Reduction of dementia risk by 50%. This is according to a study by the National Institute of Aging and the US Department of Veteran Affairs
• 44% more ability to recover from a serious disability according to a study by Yale School of Public Health
• 19% lower mortality rate compared to unhappy elderly according to a study by Duke-NUS-Medical School Singapore

Now that we have seen the importance of keeping the seniors happy, let us then see the 10 proven tips to help those who care for seniors to achieve this:

1. Have a positive view of the elderly. The length of time they have lived on earth has equipped them with knowledge and experiences about life that are useful to the younger generation. When you see the elderly ones in your care as assets and sources of useful knowledge about life, you will feel endeared to them and want to remain friendly and nice which will have a ricocheting effect as they will be comfortable conversing with you. This fosters mutual friendship and cordiality between you and the senior.
2. Show Empathy and Love. Challenges and limitations caused by old age can result in seniors showing irritability and hostility towards you. Empathy will help you to look beyond those negative actions and remain calm, loving and friendly. You will understand that their intentions are not to hurt you, instead, you will view those actions as their response to the mental, emotional and physical pain they are going through. You are thus moved to relieve those pains regardless.
3. Stick to care best practices. As a support worker who has undergone some pieces of training, you are equipped with the necessary skills to care for vulnerable individuals. You should understand and internalize what is expected of you according to the provisions of the relevant legislation and strictly follow them. For example, Under the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015, it is an offence, as a caregiver, to ill-treat or willfully neglect an individual under your care. By Ill-treatment, I mean any sort of abuse (emotional, physical, mental, psychological, etc.) while willful neglect involves deliberately failing to act to prevent acts of abuse or harm. In a nutshell, ensure that any act of abuse DOES NOT HAPPEN to those in your care.
4. Build friendship, confidence and trust. Becoming friends with the seniors you care for is a way sure to earn their trust and confidence. As tip 1 above shows, there is so much you can learn from them. Asking some questions about their experiences and tips for life can open up an opportunity for some nice and friendly conversations that can be fun
5. Encourage the seniors to participate in activities. This is a great way for seniors to bond with others and have fun. It also helps them keep in shape mentally and physically. Without being pushy, encourage them to engage in activities that their circumstances allow. Even those who are physically challenged can enjoy games such as board and card games, arts & crafts, singing & listening to music, reading etc. Others who are not limited by physical disability can engage in walking, dancing, keeping and caring for pets, etc.
6. Preserve their sense of responsibility, independence and dignity. While the seniors might need help with many things, you mustn’t in any way make them feel that they are not in control of all their affairs. It might be necessary to allow them to make decisions for themselves if they are cognitively able to do so. For example, you can allow them to choose what to wear, eat, how to groom, where to go, etc. By so doing, you are acknowledging that they are still able to act for themselves which will increase their self-confidence, self-esteem and dignity.
7. Keep up with their medication. Ensure that they regularly take their prescriptions to keep them as healthy as possible. When you are consistent in helping them with their routine meds, they will understand that their health and wellbeing are important to you
8. Observe when something is wrong. You should be careful to notice when there is something off or strange with the senior in your care. Look out for unusual behaviour, physical marks, bruises, etc. These could be pointers to abuse or health issues. Then take the required action in response to your observation
9. Use positive words and affirmations to assure them that they are not a burden to you and others. Sometimes, these elderly darlings feel that they are a burden to those who care for them. They might thus decide not to voice their needs or concerns due to fear of further burdening their carers. You must reassure them that it is a pleasure caring for them and are not bothered in any way. This makes them feel loved and happy
10. Find a personal support system. Try hard as you may, there will come a time when you will need support yourself due to the demand and stress of caring for these dear elderly ones. Find a way to diffuse stress and tiredness. You can find support among your colleagues, your spouse and family members, music and other interesting and fun activities. Have an action plan ahead of time to be used when you notice that your emotion is rising due to the non-cooperation of the senior you are caring for. It could mean taking a break and asking for the help of a colleague, manager, etc. Please note: come what may, YOU MUST NOT LOSE YOUR COOL WITH THE SENIOR YOU ARE CARING FOR!

There you have it! While caring for the elderly in a nursing home is not a walk in the park, it can actually be fun and rewarding!

At Balance of Creation Recruitment Agency, we have a pool of kind and empathetic workers who have been trained to provide excellent care and support to individuals in the nursing homes of our clients. Do you need carers or support workers in your care home or assisted living facility? Or as an individual, do you need a competent person to care for a vulnerable relative or loved one? Email us at hcm@balanceofcreation.co.uk and we will respond immediately